Erdogan heats up anti-Syria warmongering policy

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated that Turkey would take part in any international coalition against Syria, but has stopped short of saying whether that would include military action.

“We have said that we are ready to take part in any kind of coalition and we perceive this as a coalition of volunteers,” Erdogan said shortly before leaving for the Group of 20 meeting in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

Turkey has rotated its NATO Patriot missiles batteries towards Syria. The move comes after Western countries along with their allies in the region have blamed the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons in Damascus suburbs.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also urged the US to take serious measures in Syria.

Turkish political opposition parties have strongly rejected any military strikes on Syria, arguing that they have doubts about whether it was the Syrian army that used chemical weapons against people.

“Turkey should not be pulled into a war in Syria based on fabricated and one-sided intelligence reports,” Haluk Koc, deputy chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said.

Turkey has been openly calling for regime change in Syria since the country was hit by unrest in 2011.